A man was reported missing after falling into a Yellowstone National Park hot spring. Rangers are still looking for the visitor. On Tuesday, a man fell into a hot spring at the Yellowstone National Park. Rangers have started the research, but they have not yet had success.
According to a witness, the man seemed to be in his twenties. He walked off the boardwalk in the Norris Geyser Basin area and fell into the hot spring. The man has not yet been identified, and no other information linked to the recent incident was released.
A Yellowstone spokeswoman, Charissa Reid, said “All we know is that there is a person in the hot springs,” and because of park official have not encountered the missing man, Reid stated that it is a pretty complicated situation what the park is facing at the moment.
Also, Reid had said that the incident took place at about 3 and 3:30 p.m. in the Norris Geyser Basin when the visitor was wandering off a designated walkway and fell into the hot spring. Even if recovery efforts have been carried out, Rangers have not found the whereabouts of the man.
Reid pointed out that boardwalks have been designed and located to protect visitors and to preserve the geothermal formations of the park, it is illegal and dangerous crossing the limits of the boardwalks.
nothing has "plagued", just idiotic people. > "adds to a string of incidents that have plagued #Yellowstone" https://t.co/dgIzOXmcKB
— rich! (@TheRichFuller) June 8, 2016
Rangers have said that considering the time it has passed and the lack of any clues of the missing visitor, the man might be already dead. A search in thermal waters is not easy to carry out, and rangers are being extremely cautious due to the delicate features of the Norris Geyser Basin.
Because of the latest incidents that have occurred at the park, authorities suggest visitors stick to the park’s rules and recommendations to avoid future incidents. The search is still on, and park’s officials will provide information as soon as they found something linked to the case.
The Norris Geyser Basin is considered the hottest and most dynamic geothermal area at Yellowstone. The temperatures of the water can reach the 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
A 13-year-old boy burnt by Upper Geyser Basin
It seems that the teenager was being carried by his dad when he slipped, and the boy fell into a hot pool in Upper Geyser Basin. The boy was taken to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming, where his ankle and foot were treated as a consequence of the contact with the hot waters.
The incident occurred last Saturday, June 4. The teenager’s father suffered splash burns when he was trying to pull his son out of the hot springs.
In May, a Canadian crew was accused of leaving the boardwalks and stepping onto a geothermal feature. The film group took some photos and shot videos.
Geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park
The geothermal areas of the park comprise hot springs, geyser basins, fumaroles, mud pots and others thermal features. Yellowstone houses the greatest geyser field on earth and visitors can experiment excellent views of these mysterious formations. The number of thermal areas is estimated over 10,000, including hot springs and geysers. It seems that geysers erupt 300 times yearly, and they are distributed among nine geyser basins at the park.
#Yellowstone Rules are meant to protect nature as much as humans: Man presumed dead after falling into hot spring https://t.co/WNX4fs3vSB
— Gerardo Rodríguez (@grod53) June 8, 2016
Major geyser basins can be explored by visitors walking through boardwalks or paved trails. The park has placed a Yellowstone Geyser Maps where people can see locations and routes to get to them.
Five different types of geothermal areas can be found a Yellowstone. As it was stated before, there are the geysers, which erupt periodically scalding hot water. Hot springs are considered to be the most famous hydrothermal features from the park, and many of them produce heated water streams. Also, we have fumaroles here. The fumaroles or steam vents are the hottest hydrothermal areas at Yellowstone. They contain so little amount of water that it all flashes into steam when reaching the surface. Further, the park displays mud pots (acidic hot springs) and travertine terraces (formed by a calcium carbonate rock).
Norris Geyser Basin
The hottest geyser basin at Yellowstone reaches the 237 degrees, and it has been named Norris Geyser Basin. This geyser is so dynamic and hot because of the Norris-Mammoth Corridor and the Heaven Lake faults. The intersection of these faults with the ring fracture zone of the park is what gives this geyser its geothermal features.
Source: Fox News